Giants training camp, 8/24: Practice report — Wide receiver Darius Slayton sits out

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants held a marathon 2½-hour practice in 90-degree heat on Monday, their longest practice of 2020 training camp thus far.

Injury news: Darius Slayton, Ryan Connelly, more

• Wide receiver Darius Slayton did not practice, and head coach Joe Judge said that “trainers are kinda dealing with” Slayton and promised more information when the team had it. To be honest, that’s pretty expansive injury injury information from the rookie head coach, and it sounds ominous.
• Linebacker Ryan Connelly was once again riding the exercise bike and not participating. No news on what is bothering Connelly, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL last year, but he hasn’t participated since the middle of last week.
• Undrafted free agent tight end Rysen John left practice after catching a long pass. He did not return to practice, spending much of the time with an ice pack wrapped around his left hamstring.
• Jabrill Peppers and Shane Lemieux also went into the injury tent at points during practice. Spencer Pulley also didn’t work in the latter stages of practice.

“We had a couple guys dealing with some cramps,” Judge said.

Quote of the day

“I can tell you on thing, he can’t fit in a whole bunch of pants. He’s got the biggest thighs I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s a load.”

— Defensive line coach Sean Spencer on newly-acquired defensive tackle Daylon Mack.

Practice notes

Most of Monday’s lengthy practice was a slog, a fairly light practice in full pads that included a high number of individual periods mixed with some work done at a pace barely above a walk-through.

That changed near the end of practice after Judge gathered his group for a bit of a “pep talk” before running a two-minute drill to complete the workout.

“They definitely ended with good intensity. We were competing at the end,” Judge said. “We’ve got to get it where we come off a day off and we start sharp.”

Some practice highlights:

• Rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes had a pair of nice plays near the goal line during that two-minute drill. First, he knocked a Daniel Jones pass away from Sterling Shepard. Next, he jumped a sideline route and nearly picked off a pass intended for Golden Tate.
• Tight end Evan Engram probably had the play of the day. In a 7-on-7 period, Engram beat safety Xavier McKinney to haul in a deep ball from Jones.
• A bit of a mixed day for Corey Coleman. He hauled in a couple of deep passes, but also committed what would have been a 15-yard late-hit penalty while blocking on a run play.
• With Pulley sitting out, undrafted rookie Tyler Haycraft got some extra work at center.
• Undrafted rookie cornerback Jarren Williams, just added to the roster three weeks ago, continues to get a long look from the Giants.
• Wide receiver Alan Bachman flashed with a diving catch on a deep ball from Jones with rookie cornerback Christian Angulo in coverage.

Tae Crowder makes himself noticed

The final player selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, Crowder is bidding for a spot on the 53-man roster. He made a couple of noticeable plays in Friday’s intra-squad scrimmage. Inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer on Monday said Crowder brings a “different skillset” to the position.

“Very similar scheme [at Georgia, where Crowder played] to a certain degree of what we do, so I think that’s helped him to where he doesn’t come in with a complete ground zero. He has terms of knowledge and the language he’s trying to interpret. He’s done well,” Sherrer said. “He still has a ways to go, some learning, some understanding, some situational awareness and things like that. He’s done well for us. He does have a different skillset than the other guys. He’s a little bit taller, a little longer, probably a little more athletic than a lot of the other guys.”

Tyke Tolbert: WRs “fit perfectly” into Giants’ offense

Ask wide receiver coach Tyke Tolbert if the Giants have enough play-makers at wide receiver and you get an impassioned response.

“Yes, I do. Weapons are an opinion of one person, but I think all these guys are NFL football players and they’re all here for a reason. It’s up to us to coach them up to get them to play the best within the system that we possibly can,” Tolbert said on Monday. “Do I believe we have enough weapons? Yes. Everybody is always looking for the biggest, strongest, fastest guy, but that doesn’t necessarily fit the system that you’re running. I think these guys fit perfectly for what we’re running. We expect a lot from them and we’ll build up a lot of them.”

Not Mr. Perfect

Giants’ placekicker Graham Gano had been 6 of 6 in field-goal attempts until he missed a kick wide right on the final play of practice. No real estimate on the distance of the attempt.

Media and practice schedule

Tuesday, Aug. 25

Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey – 11:30 a.m.
Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett – 11:45 a.m.
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham – Noon
5:45 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Practice
Approx. 7:35 p.m. – Head Coach Joe Judge Available
Approx. 7:50 p.m. – Player Interviews